Marine Le Pen, French National Front (FN) political party leader and candidate for French 2017 presidential election delivers a speech in Paris

PARIS (Reuters) – French far-right leader Marine Le Pen refused to attend a summons by judges over allegations of misuse of European Union funds, her lawyer told Reuters on Friday.

Lawyer Marcel Ceccaldi said Le Pen had told the judges she would not attend before the end of the presidential campaign, to be held in two stages in April and May, in which she is one of the leading candidates.